Last night, the Berkeley Press Team was privileged to attend a talk by Daniel Vosovic at the New York Times Center. Daniel attended FIT for fashion, he was a finalist on the show Project Runway, and he is a New York based designer. He started off the evening by telling us a little about his background. He started his career as a gymnast, and then switched to architecture. It was in Community College that he took a sewing course “on a whim” and discovered it was a perfect fit. In no time he was crafting clothes for his friends and seeing how happy it made them to wear his designs.

“I took a sewing course on a whim…and it just made sense to me.”

Daniel went on to explain that students at Berkeley College have a unique advantage. Students here can rub shoulders with Fashion’s most elite, the city has everything to offer a fashion major, and that having access to the fashion capital is a gift. He went on to say, in a controversial statement geared at students, that grades really were not that important for fashion majors, but the emphasis should instead be placed on what you create and who you network with. [Berkeley Press Team would like to remind students that good grades can lead to scholarships and more financial aid, so don’t throw your books out just yet].

“Experiment. Play. This is the time to be doing this.”

Daniel went on to a Q&A session to answer questions directly from the audience. He advised placing less emphasis on your personal brand, and more emphasis on the product you create. Also, use media effectively to display your work, Daniel recommends Instagram, among other tools. You should know your customer and how to make them happy. Daniel said he knew how to do one thing really well, and he focuses on that one thing to make a better product.

“I learned I couldn’t be everything, but I could do one thing really well. Chic Tomboy.”

One student asked a particularly relevant question:

How did you market your first fashion show?

Daniel explained that it helped that the fashion show was put on to raise money for charity. As he said, some people may not be as interested in fashion, but they are interested in a good cause. Also, he said to start small. To get your show covered you will need to head directly to a local news desk with samples. Talk to them, and tell them about the show. Advertising to strangers won’t do you as much good as using your personal connections.

When another student asked, “How do you build your brand?” Daniel asked her if she could explain what she did in one sentence. He went on to show how you would do this by saying, “I can take a color and a fabric, and make a woman feel sexy and confident.” He then advised that you know what you stand for, make personal connections, and talk about what you do.

Daniel’s talk was chock full of amazing advice for fashion students and new graduates. Berkeley College will be editing the video and releasing it for students to watch. The Berkeley Press Team suggests you follow Daniel on twitter @DanielVosovicNY and on Instagram @DanielVosovic. If you’d like to see more photos from this event, check out the album on our Facebook page.